Inserts for articles of plastic and similar materials



2 Sheets-Sheet l E. K. UHLE INSERTS FOR ARTICLES 0F PLASTIC AND SIMILARMATERIALS HBIIIM 7 July 24, 1951 Flled Feb 14, 1946 l lill w a 4 t .7. 1a m 0 Jmw WM 6 S n g FD v 32 .l 7 2 a M m m w s 093 u s 2 WW/ 3 lbUlQliil. mm 7. Z

E. K. UHLE INSERTS FOR ARTICLES 0F PLASTIC AND SIMILAR MATERIALS July24, 1951 Flled Feb 14, 1946 Patented July 24, 1951 INSERTS FOR ARTICLESOF PLASTIC AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Emil K. Uhle, Naugatuck, Conn,assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to The Phelps ManufacturingCompany, Middlebury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut ApplicationFebruary 14, 1946, Serial No. 647,493

Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in inserts which areadapted for insertion into and self-retention in preformed recesses orpassages in articles composed of synthetic resin or other materialshaving the property of being suitably deformable.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide asuperiorinsert of the character referred to which is economical to produce andFig. 9 is an elevation in section on the line 9- -9 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the assembled insert partly inlongitudinal section and shown as installed in a recess, preparatory tobeing locked therein;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing the locking-arms movedoutwardly .by the inward movement of the expanding-member to lock theassembly in the recess; a

suitable .for use in carrying out the present inconvenient of use. 10vention;

Another object of the present invention is to Fig. 13 is a bottom planview of the body-mem provide a novel insert which may be firmly lockedbe of Fig; 12; in a preformed recess as an incident to force ap- Fig. 14is a perspective view or an expandingplied in a direction axially of theinsert. member suitable for use in conjunction with the A further objectof the present invention is to 15 body-member of Figs. 12 and 13;provide a superior insert of the character referred Fig. 15 is a sideelevation partly in central-lon to which may be firmly locked in arecess in an gitudinal section of an assembly comprising the ar cl wihout r q ir g ch a h h ree of body-member of Figs. 12 and 13 and theexpanddeformation of e article as to pture the ing-mernber of Fig. 14,with the locking-arms of same. the said body-member deflected inwardly;

Still another object of the present invention is Fig. 16 is a bottomplan View of the structure of to provide a novel tubular insert havinginternal Fig, 15; threads and outwardly-defiectable locking-arms, Fig.17 is a transverse sectional view taken on together with means foroutwardly deflecting the l th line I'l-l'! of Fig. 15;and saidlocking-arms with minimum injury to such Fig. 18 is a sectional viewsimilar to Fig. 1'1 threads. but illustrating still another form ofbody-mem- With the above and other objects in view, as her andexpanding-member, suitable for. carr will appear to those skilled in theart from the ing out the present invention. present disclosure, thisinvention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel IThe Insert 07: Figs 1 to 11 mduswe' over the prior art and which are notclaimed in The particular insert illustrated in Figs. 1 to 11 anyseparate application. inclusive of the accompanying drawings for pur- IIn the accompanying drawings, in which cerposes of making clear apreferred mode of carrytain modes of carrying out the present inventioning out the present invention, includes a tubular are shown forillustrative purposes: body-member generally designated by the referFig. 1 is a view in side elevation of one form ence character l0 and aplate-like expanding of body-member shown in its condition prior tomember generally designated by the reference the permanent assembly withit of an expandingcharacter I I and adapted to fit within the saidmember; body-member l0 in a manner as will more fully Fig. 2 is a bottomplan of the inner end of the hereinafter appear. body-member of Fig. 1;i 40 For purposes of convenience of description, the

Fig. 3 is a central-longitudinal sectional elevabody-member l0 may besaid to have an inner' tion taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; end i2 andan outer end l3 respectively adapted Fig. 4 is a perspective view of theexpandingto be directed toward the inner and outer ends of member,detached; a recess in an article in which it is desiredto" Fig. 5 is aview in side elevation of the assemmount the insert of the presentinvention. bly comprising the body-member and the ex- Intersecting theinner end I2 of the body-merit panding-member with the locking-arms ofthe her [0 are four (more or less) longitudinal slots said body-memberdeflected inwardly; I l. The formation of the slots l4 serves to di Fig.6 is a bottom plan of the inner end of the vide the inner end of thebody-member Ill into a assembly of Fig. 5; corresponding number ofparts, each of which Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on maybe aptly term'eda locking-arm and desigthe line 1-1 of Fig. 5; nated bythe reference character l5.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the assembly partly Integral with andprojecting outwardly from in longitudinal section taken on the line B--8of the inner end of each of the locking-arms I4 is Fig. 6; one of foursimilar flange-like locking-fingers l6,

each of which has alocking-face l1 facing gener ally toward the outerend l3 of the body-member and extending substantially perpendicularlywith respect to the longitudinal axis of the said bodymember. The innerface of each of the lockingfingers I6 is preferably chainfered as at I8;

In its interior, the'tubular body-member I is formed with threads I9extending from the outer 1 end I3 to a point closely approaching theinner end I2 but falling short thereof to provide the interior of thebody-member with a plain cylindrical surface 20.

The expanding-member II before referred to is of plate-like form in theinstance shown and has a substantially-cylindrical periphery save forthe formation of a plurality of retaining-fingers or projections 2|preferably corresponding in number to the slots I4 in the body-memberI0, and positioned and sized to fit within the said slots for purposesas will hereinafter appear.

"The body-member I0 and the expanding-member II may be formed of anysuitable material, though it may be here mentioned that harddrawn brasshas been. found especially well suited for the production ofbody-members such as IE3, while cold-rolled steel has been foundsatisfactory for the production of expanding-members such as I I.

As initially produced, the body-member I0 is in the form illustrated inFigs. 1 to 3 inclusive wherein-the cylindrically-contoured outer surfaces of its locking-arms I5 form a straight continuation of thecylindrical outer surface of the outer portion of the body-member, andwherein the locking-fingers I6 or their equivalent project beyond thediameter of the outer portion of the body-member I'Il.

With the body-member I0 in the condition illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3inclusive, the expandingmember II may be inserted thereinto byregistering its retaining-fingers 2| with the open lower ends of theslots I4 and moving the said expanding-member into the said slots untilits retainingfingers engage with the transverse outer walls of the slots14.

Thelocking-arms I5 of the body-member II] may now be bent inwardly to adegree sufficient to retain the expanding-member in assembledrelationship and to bring the outer edges of the locking-fingers I6within or substantially within the boundaries defined by the outerperiphery of the outer end of the body-member III, as illustrated inFigs. 5 to 10 inclusive.

With the expanding-member I I assembled with thebody-member I0 as abovedescribed, the complete insert may be set into a recess 22 in an article23 of any desired form and composition, as long as it is deformable tothe slight degree required by the locking-fingers I6 or theirequivalent. The recess 22 in the instance shown in Figs. 10 and .11, hasa bottom wall 24 though the said recess may be in the form of abottomless passage, as is indicated by the broken lines 25 in Fig. 10.

After the assembled insert has been installed in-the recess 22, as shownin Fig. 10, a suitable rodor punch may be inserted through the outer endof the body-member I0 into engagement with the outer face of theexpanding-member I I and the said expanding-member may be forced towardthe inner end I2 of the body-member I0 into substantially the positionin which it is shown in Fig. 11, to thereby outwardly bend thelocking-arms I5 and firmly seat their respective locking-fingers I6 intothe material forming the wall of the recess 22 or its equivalent, all asindicated Fig. 11.

The insert will now be so firmly locked in the article 23 as to defyrelatively great forces Instead of using a rod or punch to force theexpanding-member II toward the inner end of the body-member Ill,obviously a suitable screw may be threaded into the said body-member toeffect the same result.

During the movement of the expanding-member II'or its equivalent towardthe inner end of the body-member It to effect the outward movement ofthe locking-arms I5, the riding of the retaining-fingers 2i of the saidexpanding-member against the opposite surfaces of the slots I4 willserve to effect a large share of outwardlybending the locking-arms I5and thus guard the threads I9 against appreciable damage.-

The insert of Figs. 12 to 17 inclusive The insert of Figs. 12 to 17inclusive includes a body-member generally designated by the referencecharacter 26 and having tubular form like the body-member H) of thepreceding figures. The said body-member has an inner end 2'! and anouter end 28.

The body-member 26 is provided in its inner portion with four (more orless) longitudinal slots 29, intersecting the inner end 21 and extendingsubstantially half way toward the outer end 28 of the said body-member.The formation of the slots 29 results in providing the inner portion ofthe body-member with an equal number of locking-arms 30, each of whichis provided adjacent its inner end with an annular series of tooth-likelocking-projections 3I.

Centrally of each of its locking-arms 30 the body-member 26 is formed onits inner periphery with one of four similar longitudinal grooves 32,extending from end to end of the said bodymember but preferably havingthe wall portion at its outer end 28 slightly deflected inwardly tooverhang the said groove and provide a stopabutment 33, as is shown'inFigs. 12, '13 and'l5, for purposes as will hereinafter appear.

Adapted to be introduced into the body-member 26 while the same is inthe condition illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13, is a plate-likeexpanding-member 34 having four outwardly-projecting fingers 35,

each of which is adapted to register with and ride in one of thelongitudinal grooves 32 in the body-member 26. v

After an expanding-member such as 34 is inserted into the inner end ofthe body-member 26,

the locking-arms 39 may be bent inwardly, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16,to guard against the escapeof the expanding-member 3 out of the innerend of the body-member 26 and to bring the locking-projections 3! ortheirequivalent within the boundaries defined by the outer PE? ripheryof the outer portion of the body-member 26, to thereby permit theconvenient introduc-.

tion of the assembly into a recess. The stop-abutments 33 at the outerend of each of the longitudinal grooves 32 will prevent the accidental.escape of the expanding member 34 through the outerend'ofthebodyemember26. v

After theassembly is made, as illustrated in Figs. to 17 inclusive, thesaid assembly may be inserted into a suitable recess and when theexpanding-member is forced toward the inner end 21 of the saidbody-member it will, through the intermediary of its fingers 35, causethe locking-arms or their equivalent to bend outwardly, to therebyengage the locking-projections 3! or their equivalent with the wall ofthe recess in which the assembly may be mounted.

By providing an expanding-member such as 34 which has a thickness in thedirectionof the length of the body-member ll) of but a minor fraction ofthe said length, the internal threads 36 within the said body-member arerendered available for engagement by a screw or the like throughoutsubstantially their entire length, after the said expanding-member hasbeen depressed to a position adjacent the inner end 21. of thebodymember 26.

The insert of Fig. 18

Fig. 18 is a transverse sectional view similar to Fig. 17 except that itillustrates a slightly modified form of insert as compared to the formillustrated in Figs. 12 to 17 inclusive.

The insert indicated in Fig. 18 includes a tubular body-member 31 whichcorresponds to the body-member 26 before described save that it isprovided with only two slots 38-38, rather than the four slots 29previously described. The formation of the two slots Bil-38 serves todivide the inner portion of the body-member 31 into but two locking-arms39-3 9, each of which is of substantially semi-circular form in crosssection, as is apparent from Fig. 18.

Formed in the interior of the tubular bodymember 31 are two longitudinalgrooves -46 corresponding to the longitudinal grooves 32 beforedescribed, and one of which is located substantially centrally withrespect to each of the locking-arms 3939. 1

Engaging respectively with the longitudinal grooves 40-49 in thebody-member 31, are two fingers or projections 4 [-41 formed integralwith and respectively projecting outwardly at diametrically oppositepoints from a disk-like expanding-member 42. i

The expanding-member 42 above described preferably has a thicknesssimilar to the thickness of the expanding-member 34 above described andwill serve to outwardly spring the lockingarms 39-39 in a manner similarto that described in connection with the functioning of theexpanding-member 34.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. An expansible insert including in combination: a tubular body-memberhaving a circumferentially-continuous outer end provided with internalscrew threads, and a leading end, said leading end having a plurality ofcircumferentially-spaced guide-apertures extending longitudinallythereof, stop-abutments at the outer extremities of said guide-aperturesand a plurality of outwardly-bendable locking-arms, the fixed ends ofwhich are integral with the said circumferentially-continuous outer endof said tubular body-member, each locking-arm having screw threads onits inner surface and locking-means on its outer surface, saidlocking-means being constructed and arranged to engage with the wall ofan insert-accommodating recess, each of said plurality of locking-armsbeing bent normally laterally inwardly toward the leading end and thelongitudinal axis of said body-member whereby the locking-means of saidarms lie within a circumference less than the circumference of saidbody-member and the leading ends of said longi-- tudinal guide-aperturesconverge; and an expanding-member freely mounted within said body and ofless over-all transverse dimensions than theminor internal diameter ofthe threaded portion of said body so as to avoid damageto the threadswhen said member is moved relative thereto, said member having aplurality of integral radially-projecting lugs arranged normally tomovably engage in said longitudinal circumferentially-spaeed guideapertures respectively, said lugs being held in assembled positiontherein by confinement between said stop-abutments and the convergingleading ends of said guide-apertures and arranged to engage respectivelywith said integral locking-arms to bend the same outwardly when theradially-projecting lugs of said expanding-member are moved in saidlongitudinal guide-apertures toward the leading end of said body-memberto thus bend the locking-arms outwardly and force said locking-meansinto locking engagement with the wall of insertaccommodating recess, thesaid expanding-mem her having a thickness in the direction of the lengthof said body-member, which thickness is but a minor fraction of the saidlength to thus leave the threads which are within the outer end of thebody member and on the inner surfaces of said locking-arms free forengagement by a screw or the like when the said expandingmember isforced into the leading end oi said body-member.

2. An expansible insert, including in combination: a tubular body-memberprovided in its outer end with internal threads and provided at itsleading end with a plurality of integral outwardlybendable locking-armseach having lockingmeans on its outer surface constructed and arrangedto engage with the wall of an insert-accommodating recess, each of thesaid plurality of integral locking-arms being provided in its inner facewith one of a plurality of substantially-longitudinal recessed guidegrooves; and an expanding-member mounted within the said tubularbody-member and provided with a plurality of radially-projecting fingersrespectively engageable in the recessed guide grooves in the saidlocking-arms to hold said expanding-member in spaced relationship to theinner faces of the integral locking-arms and to bend the saidlocking-arms outwardly when the expanding-memberis moved toward theleading end of the bodymember to thus force the locking-means of thesaid locking-arms into locking engagement with the wall of saidinsert-accommodating recess, the said expanding-member having athickness in the direction of the length of the said body-mem her whichthickness is but a minor fraction of the said length to thus leave thethreads within the outer end or the body-member free for engagement by ascrew or the like when the said expanding-member is forced into theleading end of the said body-member.

3. An expansible insert, including in combination: a tubular body-memberprovided in its 7 J outer end with internal threads and provided at itsleading end with a plurality of integral outwardly-bendable locking-armseach having screw threads on its inner surface and locking-means on itsouter surface constructed and arranged to engage with the wall of aninsert-accommodating recess, the inner face of each locking-arm beingformed with a substantially-longitudinal groove; and expanding-membermounted within the tubular body-member and provided withoutwardly-extending projections engageable respectively with the groovesin the inner surfaces of the said integral locking-arms to bend the saidlocking-arms outwardly when the expandingmember is moved toward theleading end of the body-member to thus force the locking-means of thesaid locking-arms into locking engagement with the Wall of saidinsert-accommodating recess, the said expanding-member having athickness in the direction of the length of the said body-member whichthickness is but a minor fraction of the said length to thus leave thethreads which are within, the outer end of the body-member and on theinner surfaces of said locking-arms free for engagement by a screw orthe like when the said expanding-member is forced into vthe leading endof the said bodymember; and means normally holding the saidexpanding-member in a position intermediate the respective opposite endsof the said bodymember in readiness to outwardly bend the saidlocking-arms.

a. An expansible insert for insertion in the recess of a relatively-softsupporting medium comprising a tubular body threaded interiorlythroughout substantially its entire length and provided adjacent itsleading-end with a. plurality of substantially-longitudinal slots spacedapart about the circumference of said body, said slots being closedadjacent the outer end of said body and open at the leading-end thereof,the said body being thus provided adjacent its leading-end with aplurality of integral locking-arms each of said locking-arms beingbendable laterally and having locking-means on its leading-endconstructed and arranged to engage with the walls of said recess, saidarms being normally bent laterally inwardly toward the longitudinal axisof said body to provide substantially-inwardly converging interior andexterior surfaces adjacent the leading-end of said body-member wherebysaid locking-means lie withina circumference less than the circumferenceof said body, and to close up the lowerends of said longitudinal slotsso as to provide said slots with longitudinally-converging walls; and anexpanding-member comprising a relatively-thin rigid element freelymounted within said body and of less over-all transverse dimensions thanthe minor internal diameter of the threaded portion of said body so asto avoid damage to said threads when said element is moved relativethereto, said rigid element having a plurality of integralradiallyprojecting lugs arranged normally to movably en age in saidlongitudinal slots respectively, and to be held in assembled positiontherein adjacent the closedcends thereof by said converging walls, saidlugs being adapted to cammingly engage the converging walls of saidslots as said rigid element is moved toward the conicalinternally-threaded leading-end of said body-member to spread apart saidarms from their normal inwardly-bent po sitions so as to prevent damageto said threads and drive the said locking-means of said arms I into theadjacent walls of said recess.

5. An expansible insert for insertion in the recess of a relatively-softsupporting medium comprising a tubular body threaded interiorlythroughout substantially its entire length and provided adjacent itsleading-end with av plurality 0f substantially-longitudinal slots spacedapart about the circumference of said body, said slots being closedadjacent the outer end of said body and open at the leading-end thereof,the

said body being thus provided adjacent its lead-V ing-endwith aplurality of integral laterallybendable locking-arms each of saidlocking-arms having screw threads on its inner wall and locking-means onits outer wall constructed and arranged to engage with the wall of saidrecess, said arms being normally bent laterally inwardly toward thelongitudinal axis of said body to provide substantially-inwardlyconverging interior and exterior surfaces adjacent the leading-end ofsaid body-member whereby said lockingmeans lie within a circumferenceless than the circumference of said body, and to close up the lower endsof said longitudinal slots so as to provide said slots withlongitudinally-converging walls; and an expanding-member comprising arelatively-thin rigid element freely mounted within said body and ofless over-all transverse dimensions than the minor internal diameter ofthe threaded portions of said body and said locking -arms so as to avoiddamage to said threads when said element is moved relative thereto, saidrigid element having a plurality of integral radially-projecting lugsarranged normally to movably engage in said longitudinal slots,respectively, and to be held in assembled position therein adjacent theclosed ends thereof by said .converg-. ing walls, said lugs beingadapted to .camm-ingly engage the converging walls of said slots as saidrigid element is moved toward the conical internally-threadedleading-end of said body-member to spread apart said locking-arms fromtheir normal inwardly-bent positions so as .to prevent damage to'thethreads of said locking-arms and drive the said locking-means of saidarms into the adjacent walls of said recess, the thickness of.

said thin expander-element being such as to leave the entire length ofthe internally-threaded portion of the said body and a major portion ofthe screw threads of said locking-arms uncovered for engagement by ascrew when the said thin expander-element is forced into its finalposition in the leading-end of said body.

EMIL K. UHLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare .of record in the file ofthis patent:

